
More opportunities for girl athletes than ever before
THIS has been a strong year for St John's Lutheran School female sports competitors, with more making regional, state and national representative teams than ever before.
St John's principal Karyn Bjelke-Petersen said she was proud of the competitors.
"Our girls made up two-thirds of the St John's students who competed at a regional level, and 100 per cent of St John's students who made it through to the state level," she said.
St John's sports co-ordinator and teacher Greame Moseling has been in his position at the Kingaroy school for more than 10 years and said that in that time he'd seen more and more opportunities arise for female students.
"There's been a huge change in what's available for our female athletes in the past 10 years or so," he said.
"Girls have a lot more opportunities than they used to.
"There is more female sport being televised than ever before, and the girls have responsible and relatable female athletes to look up to. This makes the world of a difference."
Mr Moseling said he it was about time the sporting industry caught up with the talent, dedication and hard work of our female athletes.
"Girls can now consider sport as a legitimate career option and know they will taken seriously," he said.
"The opportunities are there, which is how it should always have been.
"Our girl athletes are just as talented as our males. They train just as hard and they want it just as much."
Looking back over the past 10 years, Mr Moseling said he'd also noticed a difference in sporting opportunities specific to the South Burnett.
"There are more rep teams for them to compete in, and more coaching clinics and critics," he said.
"They also now have the chance to train and compete in sports that were once only for the boys.
"We've got girls playing more and more contact sports like league and AFL. They also have the option to play tackle and they're doing so well at it.
"Anything the boys can do we believe the girls can do too. It's just about setting it up so they have the same amount of support, training and opportunities."
Mr Moseling said he was incredibly proud of all of the girls and how well they've done this year.
"I can't wait to see how far they go with their sports," he said.
Here's a list of all the girls who've represented St John's school at either a regional, state or national level this year.
Year 5:
Regional
Jenali Bolden - Cross Country, Athletics
Nicole Gunston - Athletics
Milla Brown - Cross Country
Geneva Koch - Athletics
State
Jenali Bolden - Cross Country, Athletics
Year 6:
Regional
Chloe Brady - Touch Football, Athletics
Bronwyn Francis - AFL, Touch Football, Soccer, Athletics
Casey Springhall - Softball, Netball, Cricket
Olivia Grundy - Softball, Touch Football, Cross Country, Athletics
Briar Steinhardt - Touch Football
Callie Trace - Touch Football
Georgia Trace - Basketball
Indianna Scott - Netball, Cross Country, Athletics
Mia Shailer - Soccer
State
Bronwyn Francis - Soccer
Casey Springhall - Softball
Olivia Grundy - Triathlon, Cross Country, Athletics
Callie Trace - Touch Football
National
Olivia Grundy - Triathlon
Year 7:
Regional
Abbie Renouf-Dowdle - Soccer, Futsal
Lily Knight - Futsal, Soccer, Athletics
Shanelle Zischke - Futsal
State
Abbie Renouf-Dowdle - Futsal
Lily Knight - Futsal
Shanelle Zischke - Futsal
Year 8:
Regional
Olivia Mogg - Touch Football, Athletics
Lily Fitz-Herbert - Cross Country, Athletics
Year 9:
Regional
Selina Birch - Athletics
Emma Wilks - Athletics